The Next Chapter
by SomeLover
Summary: SEQUEL to 'Now what, Draco'. This is what happens when they go back to school after that horrible article. Drarry, possible Deamus, I don't now the rating yet so T to be sure. I hope you enjoy this
1. Chapter 1

Recap: Sequel to Now what, Draco? - What happens when they go back to school...

Dicslaimers: I don't own the characters and all that stuff...

**Warnings: Boy X Boy!**

Other info; less Ron-/Ginny-bashing (although it might come back later, but for the most part, Ron is a good guy, I honestly don't know where that came from o_O)

EWE, I apologize for OOC, eehm, Fred is still alive (btw), possible Deamus further (but I doubt it)

A/N: And here it is, I've got the first act written, and I'm now cutting it into chapters, so I'll upload it in parts. If I don't then I won't get all those awful mistakes out of it.  
So enjoy this chapter, hopefully.  
I also haven no idea how this is going to end...

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**Chapter 1**

The holidays are almost over; finally, we can go back to school. Now there's a sentence only a wizard would think.

Harry, Ron and Hermione were sitting in the living room of the Burrow, looking at the stuff they'd bought in Diagon Alley only hours before. Packing was one of the most fun things to do. Almost as fun as unpacking and moving into the new dorms.

Four suitcases were standing in front of them. The fourth didn't belong to Ginny however. She was packing in her room. Ever since the little *cough*stunt*cough* Harry had pulled about three months before she'd refused to speak to him. Or his counterpart, for that matter. But let's face it; she wouldn't have spoken to him either way. It wasn't the kissing part that bothered her. Not really. Maybe a little. Doesn't matter.

Anyway, what bothered her was the reaction that followed.  
Her reaction.  
Granted, running away whilst screaming her head off hadn't been the most … elegant way of dealing with such a situation. Still, her brothers didn't have to laugh at her _every time_ she walked into a room. I mean, it had been _three months. _Just move on!  
So she wasn't talking to them anymore, which Harry was fine with. It was so peaceful and quiet.

He was just about to place his books in a nice pile when Draco walked into the room. Ron looked up and rolled his eyes. He'd gotten used to the boy being in his house, but he still didn't exactly like him very much. Draco walked to his suitcase, placed his final stuff in it and, with a flick of his wand, closed it firmly.

With two more steps he walked past the others and dumped himself (quite graciously) next to his boyfriend. Harry leaned over and kissed him gently on his lips before finishing up his own packing. Then he stretched a bit and cuddled against Draco's lean body.

The blonde had always been pretty toned, but during those last few months he'd changed a bit. He was now insanely hot; he'd grown and become more muscular. His hair was less strict but still looked perfect and his ever-scowling face had grown a little softer. Not that he didn't scowl anymore, but it wasn't as vicious and sharp as it used to be. It was more like his form of humour.

Harry had gone through about the same changes. He'd also grown, but he was still the smaller one of the two. His hair was the same royal mess but his eyes no longer reflected a hopeless fight. Instead, they showed sheer life and faith. He had also picked up some traits from his boyfriend. He was now a master of sarcasm, though he barely used it, out of fear of angering his friends. He'd also learned to plot evil plans. Or mad practical jokes, at least. The twins specifically loved that part. Their mother hated it.

Draco had draped his arm around Harry and they were watching Ron and Hermione finish up their own work as well. They had a rematch of quidditch planned. Although it was sure to be another slaughter because, let's face it, how could a bookworm and a weasel win against the two best flyers at Hogwarts?

Hermione nodded once after triple checking her suitcase and got up. "Okay, I'm done."  
Ron looked up from his work and said, "Me too."  
His girlfriend glanced over at his case and raised an eyebrow.  
Malfoy's sneer came from behind his back, "Are you sure you want to be seen with that … thing?"  
Ron shot him a deathglare.

"Sod off." His assaulter raised his hands in defence and looked away.  
"Just saying," he muttered. Ron was about to give him a peace of his mind when Hermione pitched in, "Well, it's just that… it's a bit messy, that's all."  
Malfoy snorted.

At this point Harry became interested in what the fuss was, so he turned his head to see it. He immediately stifled a laugh, and failed to do so. Draco raised his eyebrow in amusement as Ron yelled an undignified "Harry!"  
"I'm sorry," Harry managed between laughs. "It's just that… I've never seen such an… interesting… suitcase."  
"Interesting indeed," Draco repeated, staring at the box that looked as though someone had simply thrown everything in it, closed it and thrown it down six flights of stairs. The funny part being that, just like the other three, Ron had carefully placed every single object in its exact spot.  
"I really don't see how you can do that without using your suitcase as a quaffle at the World Cup finals."  
Ron just snuffed his nose and turned away, but he didn't exactly get any support from a giggling Hermione. "I'm sorry Ron," she said after she saw his face. Then the giggling overtook her again.

So it took them a couple of hours, rearranging a protesting Ron's case, before they finally went upstairs to grab their brooms. Seconds later they were flying through the sky. They played the same game they had for most of their matches; Harry and Draco versus Ron and Hermione, playing with a quaffle as they tried to play soccer-on-brooms.

Obviously, Draco and Harry won. After a few hours they walked back inside, Ron covered in mud because Harry had accidentally pushed him off his broom. The smell of sweet potatoes, sausages and spinach was wafting out of the kitchen window, and all four noticed how hungry they were. They gathered around the covered table and were about to start eating when Draco's eyes fell on the unread Daily Prophet that had been dropped on the windowsill that morning. The headline on the front page read:

**Notorious Death-Eater Lucius Malfoy Disinherits Own Son?**


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Nothing to say, actually... but it seems so empty not to write anything...

so how are you all doing? ;-)

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His heart sank to the very bottom of his being as he picked up the paper in slow-motion. Carefully, he unfolded the Prophet, as though it was just a dream and any sudden movement would make the article reality. His eyes fell on a photo of himself from fourth year when hehad been stalking around the Hogwarts grounds during the Tri-Wizard Tournament. Apparently Rita Skeeter had taken his photo just in case she might get dirt on him later. 'Looks like she was right,' he thought begrudgingly.

It showed his old self **-** scowling, tight hair, perfect clothing**;** aspitting image of his father whose photo was placed next to his. Most likely no one would know why they'd used two photos, but Draco knew. There just weren't any photos that showed his father and himself at the same time. The small jab didn't go unnoticed as his eyes started to read the article.

_Valuable sources have recently confirmed that the aristocratic Lucius Malfoy, famous for being one of the most fervent followers of __You-Know-Who__, has done what all had deemed impossible. The seemingly perfect Malfoy family turns out not to be so wonderful, as the 18-year-old Draco Malfoy is henceforth stripped of both his inheritance and his claim on the Malfoy name. Exactly what has brought about this shocking turn of events is as of yet unknown, but we can __assure__our readers that all is being done to find the heart of the matter. _

_Many people believe that…_

And then the piece of rubbish continued in digging up old dirt, trying to fill four pages with gossip about the Malfoy family and coming up with reasons for this 'sudden change of heart'.

Draco just stared at the article as a shudder went through his back. All of a sudden, he realized everything was quiet. He looked up to find the entire Weasley family looking at him. It took him a second to remember where he was, before he managed to get his face back to indifference. He took a deep breath and swallowed to prevent his throat from turning dry.

He folded the paper, insuring that the article was no longer visible. Then he placed it next to him, so no one could read it, and focused on the food. It was clear sign that he didn't want to talk about it and Molly, Hermione and Harry made sure that the others would respect that.

Dinner was awkward. It was obvious what was on everyone's mind but Draco just ignored it. After dinner, he gave his plate to Harry so he didn't move away from the paper. Instead, he grabbed it and moved to the couch. In seconds, the entire family was standing or sitting in the same room. Harry moved after him and sat down next him.

Without saying a word, Draco just handed him the Daily Prophet. Then he sighed and let his head fall backwards, staring at the ceiling as he heard the family move behind Harry to read over his shoulder. Draco rubbed the weariness out of his eyes as the rest read in stunned silence. Finally, he dared to look at them.

They all looked perplexed. There wasn't another word for it. Not that Draco had expected anything else. Their surprise was expected since no one really knew what had happened that first day, when Draco appeared at their house. Well, no one but Harry. They'd known Lucius had been angry at him. They also never asked why he was still with them, almost half a year later. Time had flown so it hadn't felt that long, but still.

This also meant that none of the others had seen the article coming. Their mouths were agape and their eyes were bulging out. It was indeed the last thing they'd expected. Lucius Malfoy wasn't the type to do something like this. It dragged the Malfoy name through the mud. They glared at the paper, then at him. Harry didn't glare along. His hand were shaking and the paper rippled because of that.

"_How_. DARE. She!" he shouted at the silence. The paper now met its end at his angry pieces of paper were strewn across the floor. Harry did his utmost to stay calm but it was proving incredibly difficult. Despite himself, Draco had to smile. Harry had this way of putting into words what you were feeling, even if you couldn't do it yourself.

Draco wasn't bothered by the disinheritance. Well, yes he was, but he'd seen it coming. What bothered him about the article was just _that_: there was an article about it. An article on the front page of the only newspaper that everyone saw, at one point or another. 'So much for looking forward to Hogwarts,' Draco thought.

Everywhere he'd go, people would look at him. They'd be trying to figure out what he'd done to piss off his father this much. People would stalk him, they'd spy on him, they'd bother him, and ask him questions. He didn't even dare to wonder how many of his 'friends' would want to talk to him now. Without the Malfoy name he was virtually powerless, and many of the Pureblood families would see him as no better than a Blood-Traitor.

Pansy's family was just as bad as his, but she was pretty easy-going about her image. If she was half as relaxed as she pretended to be, she wouldn't care. Blaise was the same, possibly even more so, but his family was worse than Pansy's. (If it came to a choice between his family and his friendship with Draco...) Draco shut down that train of thought.

He knew the whole if-your-friends-drop-you-for-this-then-they-weren't-really-your-friends speech, but he didn't want to know whether they were real friends or not, he just wanted them around him. He needed people he could count on, and now he didn't know who those were. Except for Harry. And Harry was enough for him. But he still wasn't looking forward to going to Hogwarts and having to constantly wonder who his friends were.

Harry was still raging next to him. He sighed softly. Then he placed a hand on Harry's shoulder to shut him up, leaned forward and placed a kiss on his lips. Harry blinked confusedly. Draco smirked at his dazed face and gave him one more kiss for good measure. "Thanks," he whispered. Then he faced the Weasleys. He didn't know how they'd react to the news, but he didn't really care to be honest.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:**Heyz, I'm back ^.^

So for those interested, here's what happened: I drowned in my schoolwork, came back to life to write the next few chapters, sent them to by beta (cheers for my beta ^.^, thanks a lot for all the amazing work) and had to change a lot, then went under my work (again -_-) and now I'm finally uploading again.

yay

About the next installments: I'm going to upload 4 in a second and re-upload 1 & 2 as well.  
I've been working on 6, which is almost done, and 7, which I have to re-write because it's missing something (words, mostly).  
5 is blank, weirdly enough... I don't have it, it doesn't exist.  
So I still have to write that one...

great :D

I hope you'll all enjoy this and I really truly feel sorry for uploading so late, this was meant to be done AGES ago.

So sorry.

Lastly, I want to thank all the amazing people that helped me ^.^  
Most actively, my awesome beta BlackCatHikari :P and equally important: the people who read and favorite and review.

So special thanks to Forevacullen, BlackCatHikari (XD), James Birdsong and Ash512.

* * *

Fred broke the silence.

"Well," he said, "who saw that one coming?"

Harry glared at him, which answered his question.

"I sure didn't. What the hell happened?" he continued.

At that point Draco decided to just say it."My father is just considering my relationship with Harry as blood treason." he explained. They all looked at him. They didn't get it. He shrugged his shoulders.  
"That's all there really is to it."

Harry moved over and wrapped his arms around him. Draco smiled softly at the gesture and rested his head in Harry's arms. It just all felt so surreal. It hadn't quite sunk in that everyone now knew that he couldn't call Malfoy Manor his home anymore.

Part of him just wanted to go to sleep, because it didn't realize something was going on. Another part wanted to cry because the world had just come crashing down on him and the final part wanted to break some important stuff because it was all so unfair. However, the indifferent part of him had had years of training and it suppressed the other urges, no sweat.

That night, Draco fell asleep in Harry's arms. They had a lot to discuss but it all came down to one question: 'How do we deal with this?' It was the one question neither of them wanted to think about. Instead they sought comfort with one another, ignoring Ron who shared their room.

Dawn was supposed to bring answers but all it brought were questions and tasks left unfinished. The mood was gloomy and depressing. It made you want to stay in bed all day and wait for it to pass. Sadly this was one thing they couldn't do. When Harry woke up early he noticed Ron was absent. His first explanation was that Ron had been subtle enough to leave the couple alone so they could talk privately. He corrected that statement immediately to Hermione being nice enough to drag Ron away before they woke up.

Stifling a yawn, he looked sideways. Even in his sleep, Draco looked gorgeous. Despite the situation Harry couldn't stop the smile that crept over his face.

"I'm glad you can laugh with what's going on." A sullen but sleepy voice pulled him back to reality. Draco stirred and pulled himself up, looking at Harry with waking eyes.

"How can I not, when the first thing I see in the morning is you," Harry said with a voice as sweet as honey.

"That," Draco started as he battled his yawn, "has got to be the sappiest thing I have ever heard."  
Harry's grin widened as he ducked from the cushion his boyfriend sent his way.

"Good sappy or bad sappy?" he asked while retrieving said cushion.

"Sappy is sappy." Draco retorted. He got up and stretched himself. "It is neither good nor bad."

Harry picked up on his sentence; "It exists in its own personal plane between worlds where such concepts don't matter."

The blond stopped mid-stretch to glared at him. Then he thought better of it and relaxed. "Exactly," he nodded. "So long as we're clear on that."

They blinked at each other before breaking into laughter.

Draco walked over to Harry and pulled him into a hug as Harry rested his head against the bare chest. As he felt Draco's hand gently stroke the base of his neck, Harry closed his eyes. He heard Draco's steady heartbeat and felt his chest rise and fall softly and it calmed him. After a while he broke the warm embrace and looked into those captivating eyes. Draco leaned forward and planted a kiss on his lips.

They stayed like that until time itself lost its meaning. Meanwhile the sun was slowly rising and its rays creased across the sky like ripples on an empty lake. Everything they touched reflected their warm light and shone like diamonds in the grass and on the hills that surrounded the strange house. The sky slowly coloured red and purple, going through all the shifts of the rainbow before finally settling on the bright blue that stretched out across the horizon. The air was clear and the smell of morning left a pure feeling. It was ironic how a simple morning could stand in so stark a contrast with the feelings a person could hold inside.

In the end they had to break apart to face the day. When they managed to get downstairs morning had almost gone. The family was scattered around the house so both of them grabbed a piece of bread and some cheese or sausage and fled outside. With the sun high in the sky the morning cold had completely disappeared. The mists had cleared for bright light and heat. Harry guided Draco back to the tree that had concealed many of their kisses since that first one and both boys leant back against its bark.

Eating together in silence, while the gnomes tried to conquer more pieces of grass as kingdom, was something they'd never done before. Without saying anything they knew they would repeat it more often. A fresh wind was bristling through the garden and picked up stray leaves to throw in their hair. It took Harry's messy hair and turned it wild. When it got so jumpy that he couldn't eat without being attacked by it, Draco was laughing so loud that he was lying on the ground.

Harry tried to put on a scolding face, but the contrast with his playful hair only encouraged Draco's fit. Without warning the wind did down. Harry's hair stopped in mid-game and dropped down on his face. It would've been a messy look, had it not been his every-day hair. In the end he ignored his laughing boyfriend and leaned back against the tree. It took Draco a while to join him again.

"Done laughing?" Harry asked, his voice incapable of ignoring his annoyance. Draco didn't trust his voice so he just nodded. Harry took a deep breath as he tried to stall the inevitable. He liked the mood and didn't want to ruin it, but he had to. Reluctantly,he dropped the bomb.

"You know we need to talk, right?"

Draco immediately got serious. His laugh melted as all his worries came back with a vengeance. He nodded again. Harry sighed and looked up to the leaves but he had to force himself to continue. They had to get this over with.

"So what's the plan? Where do we go from here?"

"I have no idea." Draco sighed. "I don't know how people will react. I don't know who's changed. I don't even know what I want." His incoherent thoughts left his mouth without screening. It was a clear sign that he was lost.

Harry nodded again and realized that they'd been nodding a lot. He broke the silence. "Let's just take it one at a time. Are we going back to who we were?"

Draco shook his head. "I don't want that."

"What part of it?"

"I don't want us to be enemies again. I want to be able to sit together like this, to talk at our leisure and to make fun of your friends."

Harry decided to ignore the last comment. "So we'll be friends," he said. He dreaded the next question but asked it anyway, his voice smaller than he wanted it to be.

"Will we be dating?"

Draco didn't answer. They both knew what he was going to say, but he needed to actually say it to make it final. They knew dating wasn't an option. Not with everything that was going on. It would be too much and too harsh. It would be like jumping from a cliff without a parachute, without knowing whether there was water below or how steep the fall was. At the very least, they needed to know the height, or have a parachute or something. They had to know where they stood before they jumped.

"No."


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Here it is ^.^

Enjoy :D

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They sat silently underneath the tree. The word still felt heavy in the air.

"No."

Draco sighed. He could make all the excuses in the world, but Harry already knew them all. He had thought of them as well and he had accepted them a long time ago, even before they'd started the conversation. Draco could say that he didn't want to make Harry the source of gossip, again. It was a given that Rita Skeeter would stalk him to the edge of the world if she got even the slightest hint about them being a couple. Or he could claim the opposite, that he 'couldn't take the extra pressure of being the centre of attention'. It wouldn't matter either way. Both were true and both came down to the fact that _people would talk_.

There's a reason why the masses are often considered the greatest weapon of all.

"Jeez," Harry sighed, "war is nothing compared to people's opinions."

Draco raised an eyebrow in question.

"Oh, come on," the boy continued his lonesome rant, "at least you knew where you stood. You could come out for what you believed in and fight for it."

Draco wasn't impressed. "And you're telling this to the boy who had to fight on the side he wanted to see defeated?" he asked. "Are you alright,? I think your brain stopped working."

"Oh, ha ha, so I wasn't thinking for a second before I complained…" Harry started but he was interrupted by a worried Draco.

"No, I'm serious. Do you think maybe stupidity is contagious?" He backed off slightly as if he could catch the disease, but didn't break their embrace.

"If it was then where do you propose I got it?" Harry retorted.

Draco just looked at him as if he wanted to say, 'Hello, isn't that obvious?'

"No," Harry said defensively, "will you stop insulting Ron?"

"I didn't mention him," Draco said haughtily.

"You didn't have to," his boyfriend retorted. "Besides, you've been around him as long as I have, you would've caught it as well."

Now Draco looked horrified. He started looking at his hands and patting his face, as if to check for signs of an upcoming stupidity-attack.

"Harry, do I look ill to you? Do you think I may have caught it?" he asked with mock worry.

"Wait, hang on, let me get a good look at you." Harry said as he held Draco's arms still. He looked in Draco's eyes as the boy was breathing heavily. He cupped Draco's chin and looked at his face from all angles.

"Well, Mr. Draco, you look like you're in perfectly good health," he stated with a mockingly polite voice.

"Are you sure?" Draco said as he held the hand that was still placed against his cheek.

"Yes," Harry said and he kissed him softly. "You're perfectly fine."

Then he smiled and tipped Draco over so that the boy was lying on his back.  
"Although," Harry continued as he traced kisses across the boy's jawline, "we might have to check just to be sure."

Draco smirked as he found Harry's lips again and captured them with his own. He snaked his hands down Harry's back and wrapped them around the boys waist. Harry leaned forward again and they lost themselves in the contact.

But in the end they had to break apart. As they regretted the loss of contact, the heaviness of the situation hit them again. Draco shuffled towards Harry so that their hips were touching and they sat in silence for a short while. Harry let his head fall back against the tree and looked up towards the leaves above.

Draco placed his head on his hands and stifled a moan. "This is so messed up. Why can't we just be boyfriends? Why should we go around and hide from the others? Why should they matter? I hate the fact that I won't be able to hold you when I want to, or kiss you before we go to the dorms."

Harry just smiled sadly since he knew that no matter what they said it wouldn't change anything. He leaned forward and kissed Draco. A hand cupped his cheek while the other pulled him closer to deepen the touch. He let his fingers playfully slide down Draco's side and rest on his hip as he twisted to embrace him more intimately. They sighed into the kiss and held each other close.

"You do know that the only reason why I would become the centre of gossip is because I'm the saviour, right?" Harry said in the comfortable silence that followed. He was talking about their previous conversation again. Draco looked up from the embrace and thought for a second.

"So the fact that you're with fabulous me has nothing to do with it?" he answered, accepting the challenge with raised eyebrows.

"I'm not saying you're not… _important_ or anything," Harry claimed, implying Draco wasn't interesting enough to captivate the newspapers, "but I'm just stating that our relationship would only get the headlines because you're with _me_." He said smugly.

"Oh, you were saying it, alright."

Draco released Harry and turned to face him, leaning against the tree with his elbow. "Besides, you're wrong. I've just proven that I can make the front page, or do you have to read the article again."

Harry just stuck up his nose and said: "That was your father, not you."

"Is this a challenge? Because I can get the front page." Draco said, "and I don't need _Golden Boy's_ help."

"Is that jealousy I smell there?" Harry mused, trying not to smile to broadly.

"What makes you think I'm jealous?"

"You seem a bit upset about me being better," Harry said with an innocent voice.

"Well I'm not. Why would I be jealous of you? I'm just annoyed by the fact that you have to make a big show out of everything."

Harry raised his eyebrows in defence.

"I mean, just look at it objectively: You're one year old. What do you do? _Save the world._" He said is as though it was the most horrible thing a one-year-old could do. "Then, instead of reveling in the centre of attention, so that the gossip could die out, you _disappear._"

Harry was doing his best not to laugh at this very original retelling of his life's story.

"So after 11 years, just when people start to settle in their new lives, what do you do? _You appear again._ You just couldn't let it rest, could you? You go to school for a year. Some might think, 'Good, he's finally being a normal kid' but that's not how it went, right? In one year you break just about every rule in the book, you lose a lot of points so you're back in the centre of attention, you become a seeker and end it all with saving the world, again I might add, and earning so many house points that Slytherin gets beaten for the first time in years. More attention. And that's just the beginning. You've been exponentially raising people's awareness about you with every single thing you could think of. You've been the outsider, the bad guy, the good guy, the one everyone wants to date, the strongest one, the most dangerous one and worst of all: the _icon of hope_." Draco finished.

"I'm not jealous, I'm just wondering why I had to fall in love with such an attention-seeking hero. Why couldn't I just go for your average no-namer?"

Harry stayed quiet for a while and looked at Draco.

Then he broke the silence.

"Yeah, all I heard was: 'Jealous, jealous, jealous, jealous, jealous, jealous, jealous, jealous, jealous'," he said.

Draco laughed.

"Besides, you've just proven my point. The media loves me."

"Yeah, you have to fix that," Draco said, "but I'll admit you make a better scoop than I do, happy?"  
"Bursting with joy," he said and kissed Draco to prove his point.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:** And we're back. Wow, I'm a horrible person to let you guys wait so long. I really do hope you haven't given up on me yet...

I could bore you all with apologies that won't seems sincere because of my tardiness so instead I'll just upload some more chapters ;)

**Chapter 5**

"You know we're going to be fine, right?" Harry said.

Draco nodded, but he wasn't convinced.

"I just mean," Harry said, "I'm not going anywhere. No matter what happens."

Draco lifted his eyes to study his face.

"And I won't allow you to go either," Harry continued.

That earned him a smile. His boyfriend lent back against the tree and smirked at him the way only he could. "Oh, and I suppose you're going to stop me?"

"You bet," Harry said with force. "I've finally caught you and I'm not letting go."

Draco's expression softened but he still didn't let up. "As if I'd want to stay with such a possessive boyfriend. The second you turn your back I'll stab it and you'll be begging me to leave," he said in a jest but his eyes looked grim and sad as if he was sure that it'd happen.

"But I wouldn't," Harry's voice was no more than a whisper. His tone prevented skepticism. When he looked at the blond next to him again, he saw surprise in those stormy grey eyes.

Draco smirked and said, "Then I'll destroy your reputation and make the school hate you."

Harry just looked at him and without wavering answered: "I'd still trust you."

Now the blond bit his lip. "I'd hurt your friends and make them stop trusting you."

"Doesn't matter."

"What's wrong with you?" Draco practically shouted.

A short silence followed and Harry looked out over the dark green trees and the village at the bottom of the hill.

"I just think," he started, "that you don't realize, exactly how much I love you." Finally Harry looked back at Draco. "You don't seem to get that I really love you, more than I've ever felt for someone."

He sighed. He knew what he wanted to say but the words weren't coming right. They weren't even making correct sentences anymore. With a frown he tried to form basic phrases in his mind.

Draco sat still and waited for him to speak.

"Do you remember," Harry retried, "our first kiss?"

Draco snorted. What kind of a question was that? "Of course I do, dimwit."

Harry smiled at the ground. "Do you know how it felt?"

"Perfect."

"It felt whole," Harry answered.

He was now leaning against the tree and looked up at the sky. The memory came over him like a wave of sunlight shining over the edge of a lake at dawn. It warmed his heart as he remembered the feeling of Draco's hand carefully placed on his shoulder, barely touching as if real contact would break the spell and make him run away. Drowning in the memory, his voice seemed to some from afar as he continued speaking.

"It felt as though the world fell in place around us. It felt like all the questions I could've possibly asked in a lifetime suddenly got answered. It was… I could feel this hole that I hadn't even realized I had fill up with a warmth I've never known."

Harry looked back at Draco and reached out. His fingers found Draco's cheek and slid in place, resting on Draco's shoulders and caressing his face, as though that was the only place in the whole world where they belonged.

Draco leaned in the touch. His eyes closed slightly and his gaze was cast down as he listened to Harry's voice.

"You know, after the war everything felt hollow. Light was never bright enough, heat could never warm me completely. My friends seemed a depressing haze, as if all the ghosts of our friends were clouding my senses. I can't remember ever smiling in those months. Not really.

"I can recall Ron and 'Mione's worried glances. I can still see the people trying to celebrate the end of the fighting without crying about the ones who couldn't celebrate anymore. I think Ginny and I were considered an item for about two days before we realized we'd grown apart. It was then that I realized how I'd never been in love before.

"Not with Cho and not with Ginny.

"And then came Christmas. And the reunion. And I saw you again and something sparked."

He remembered that moment vividly. Draco had changed a lot in those six months. His hair looked like it did now and his eyes had this strange look in them. It was as if he'd lost his purpose but not himself and not his determination. As if he was specifically aiming at something but he didn't know what or where the target was.

"In that touch I felt my heart beat again. I felt this surge of heat. When I opened my eyes again, I could see light again in all its brilliant glory. Real light, not it's shade."

"We were in a dark hallway," Draco interrupted.

"Shush," Harry said as his thumb stroked the man's cheek. "I'm telling the story."

Draco smiled softly as Harry finished.

"I think that was the first time I realized that the end of the war meant we were now at peace."

'Oh, the miracle of Christmas,' Draco thought but the words stuck in his throat a he saw the soft sunlight caress Harry's hair and make his eyes shine brilliantly. Instead he just sat there and drank in the sight.

"So, no," Harry said, sharp enough to wake Draco from his daydream, "I won't go running or beg you to go because you mean too much to me. You may think it a good idea that we don't kiss in front of others and send the whole school in shock. And you may believe that they'll do anything they can to break us apart or prove you've enchanted me but you can't convince me to stay away.

"I'm going to be with you every second of the day and if we can't be a couple than we'll be friends. I'll make them see what I saw and they'll realize how amazing you are."

Then he rethought what he'd just said and blushed a lovely shade of pink and dropped his hand from Draco's cheek.

Draco was having difficulties containing his smile but when he finally trusted his voice again he said: "So you're saying you're not enchanted by me?"

"Shut up," Harry mumbled, trying to look away. Something that proved very difficult since Draco was now holding his hand and gently caressing it.

Draco leaned forward and planted a soft kiss on Harry's burning red ear. He felt the boy tense under his touch.

Harry felt Draco's hand crawl through his hair and rest on the base of his neck. Then those lips touched his neck, drifting up to press against his cheeks. He hadn't even noticed that he was now facing his love again when he felt Draco pull him in a warm embrace and kiss the side of his head.

When they let go he traced Draco's lips with his fingers and kissed them longingly, realizing in the back of his head that their time was up.

They lingered as long as possible before they had to let go to return to the Burrow, get in the car and drive to the station again.

That was their last kiss for a long time. Or at least, too long a time.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

All too soon it was time to return to Hogwarts. The entire family (plus guest) was sitting in the car in absolute silence as they drove to the station. Draco kept staring outside, wishing he was on the train already. Nobody dared talk to him seeing how that would probably cost them a few limbs. Either way, Harry was sitting next to him and comfortingly held his hand.

The whole journey was somewhat of a blur to the blond, since he had actively been trying to block out anything that happened. So the next thing he knew the two of them were standing in front of the wall that separated the muggle platforms from the Hogwarts' one. The Weasleys and Hermione were on the other side already. He remembered looking into those green eyes. Then blackness as they walked through the wall.

It took people a few seconds to recognize him. The second someone did, though, it went through the crowd like ripples on a lake. In less than a minute, everyone seemed to be staring at them. Draco lifted his head proudly as he briskly walked to the train. People moved as he walked by to form a path. When he was inside the train, he heard Harry come in behind him. Draco strode in the first empty carriage he found and dropped himself on the seats. Harry walked in behind him and closed the door.

A short silence followed.

"Well, that wasn't so bad," he said.

Draco looked at him.

"Well, you know I'm obligated to say that in a situation like this, right?"

A raised eyebrow in response.

Harry sighed. "At least it's over now," he finished his rather lame attempt to lighten the mood. To break the tension he walked to the window and looked outside. Out there, people had already begun acting like nothing had happened. He located the Weasleys and signaled their place in the train. Finally he sat down next to the sulking blond and cupped the boys cheek.

"You do know I don't plan on having you depressed the entire time you're with me, right?"

Draco rolled his eyes.

"I'm serious." Harry said, mocking hurt.

"You're always serious." Draco blamed him, but the sharpness had left his voice already. Harry smiled and kissed him quickly on the cheek.

When Ron and Hermione finally entered (God knows what they were doing, and Draco didn't want to know), the two boys were sitting next to the window, hands clasped together between them so nobody could see it, and trying to recognize as many of their friends as possible. Ron held Hermione's hand as he led his girlfriend inside. After dumping their cases in the designated places, he joined the three in looking outside. Soon they were laughing at how much everyone had changed.

"Is that Neville?" Hermione said.

"Where?" her boyfriend asked.

"Over there, near that red sign." She pointed.

"Nah, that's not possible. Neville's not that good looking."

Harry looked at his friend, eyebrow raised at the choice of words.

"What?" Ron started. "It's true."

"Do you have something to tell us?" Draco said ambiguously.

Ron tried to sneer and failed. After a round of laughter he turned beet red and looked outside again. In an attempt to change the subject he stated. "Isn't that Seamus?"

All attention went to the brown haired boy that was standing near the train somewhat further away.

"Hey, it is." Hermione said. And she had just enough time to say, "Look there's Dean," when Seamus' face lit up as Dean pulled him in a euphoric hug. The next moment they were kissing on the platform. Ron turned pale. He'd forgotten the conversation from months before when his girlfriend had told him about the two. He remembered it too late. Hermione laughed at his weird expression and they all turned away from the window to start a new conversation as Ron tried to get a grip.

The next interruption was a bit less pleasant. By this time the train had left the station and had moved out of the town area. They were driving through fields and meadows when a lot of noise came from outside their carriage. The next moment a black haired woman entered in a gust of wind and movement and closed the door behind her.

They were all looking at the face of Pansy Parkinson as she stared in disgust at the four before her.

"So it's true." She said haughtily. "You're actually here with the Golden Boy." She said the last words as insulting as possible. Draco glared at her, something he could still do very effectively, seeing how she was taken aback for a moment. Then she restored herself.

"Apparently you were seen arriving with him." It sounded like arriving with Harry Potter was the worst possible thing one could do. Her eyes moved across the small space as she did the math. "And that after being dumped by your own family. Don't tell me you stayed with him all summer?" No one answered her. "But since he doesn't' exactly have a family I guess that means you stayed …" She looked at Ron and shuddered.

"Sod off," Harry sneered, in a perfect imitation of his boyfriend. The girl's attention snapped back. An evil glint passed through her eyes as she saw the two boys sitting next to each other. She refocused on Draco as she continued her bantering.

"Well you know what they say; where there's smoke there's fire. You do know that the most popular rumour since I-don't-know-how-long has been your…orientation," Pansy mused.

"Please," Draco sneered, "you started that when I wasn't interested in you."

"Um, correction" she said in that annoying tone, "you were just so oblivious about everything around you that you were practically shouting 'I'm gay' at the top of your lungs."

"Oblivious to everything or effectively ignoring you?" Draco retorted. She had moved closer and was now standing inches away from him. Pansy stared intently into his eyes and stayed that way. Finally her face turned into a wicked grin and she stepped back. Her tone didn't change but something about her manner seemed calmer.

"So are you?"

"Am I what. Gay or ignoring you?" Draco said. Pansy raised an eyebrow.

"Both," he answered his own question, and hers. She grinned broadly. Then she turned tail and walked away.

When she was gone, the others were wondering what the hell just happened. Draco only relaxed against the couch and said, "She'll be back. I bet she went to fetch Blaise." Harry's question was obvious from his eyes so Draco answered, "We're all right. She doesn't care." It was probably only Harry who could see the relief in Draco's eyes now that he'd found that out.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

"So," Harry started. "You and Pansy?"

Draco tilted his head. He stared at his boyfriend for a second, slightly offended.

"You're kidding, right?" he immediately asked.

Harry just looked at him with a neutral look.

"You're not seriously wondering if we've ever dated, right?" Draco asked, more pressingly this time but Harry didn't budge.

Draco looked disgusted. "How can you even think that?" He motioned toward the closed door. "She's just Pansy. She's like a sister. An _annoying _sister."

Harry still didn't respond to his defense so Hermione decided she might take over. "Well, it's a fact that the entire school seemed to think," she started carefully but one look from Draco cut her off. She bit her lip and looked outside. It was obvious that this was one conversation she had to stay out of.

Her boyfriend didn't seem to realize this, as he butted in with a rude, "She was always following you around like that."

"Exactly," Harry followed which gave Draco no chance to glare at the redhead.

"Like I said, I just ignored all the batting of the eyelids and whatever," he said, exasperated.

Harry still didn't let up. Draco sighed. "You have got to be kidding me, you're not seriously going to be upset about that?"

Blaise chose that moment to enter, muttering "Well, it's clear who wears the pants. Draco, if you're already losing at something like that you're turning soft."

Draco scowled at the unwelcome intruder as he turned to the new boy. "Wow Blaise, you sure arrived fast. You used to be able to talk back to Pansy. I guess those days are over already."

Blaise just grinned, unfazed. "She only told me you were sitting here with your boyfriend so I just _had_ to come and see this. Gotta admit; it's not what I expected."

Pansy re-entered and the party was complete. Blaise dropped himself next to Draco, who rolled his eyes. At the same time Pansy shoved Hermione to the side to sit on the opposite couch. This earned her a loud complaint from Ron, but she pointedly ignored it. They started off with side-way glances at Harry, ignoring the other couple that was sitting in the carriage when Pansy finally spoke.

"So?"

"So what?" Draco said, annoyed at the turn the conversation had made.

"Is it true?" Blaise pitched in. "Or has Pansy just wasted my precious time?"

"Pansy always wastes people's time," Draco retorted. This earned him an angry look from Pansy, who was losing patience.

"Is he your boyfriend or not?" she snapped. Draco turned to Harry. The latter was just surprised that he was now being pulled into the conversation.

"So," Draco said, "are you my boyfriend or not?" Harry looked into his eyes, trying to keep a neutral face, then shifted his gaze over Draco's shoulder to Blaise and Pansy.

"I am extremely uncomfortable with this conversation," he answered truthfully.

Pansy sighed exaggeratedly. "That wasn't the question! Are you a Gryffindor or not? I thought you guys were supposed to be stupid or something." She made a thoughtful face, "No wait, it was something like idiots, or thoughtless."

"Well, maybe when you find the word I'll answer" Harry said, annoyed by her outburst. She glared at him but that didn't stop her from saying, "Brave," in a bored tone. Harry smirked not unlike Draco and shrugged. "Yes, I'm his boyfriend and you're pretty blind if you haven't figured that out on your own by now." Draco looked at her with raised eyebrows, showing her she'd lost the fight. Pansy just huffed, surprisingly undignified for a Pureblood, and turned away. Thethird Slytherin was sitting to the side, very much enjoying the entertainment.

"So it seems the boy's become more Slytherin over the holidays," Blaise pitched in.

"That would be because of my good influence," Draco retorted with a smirk at Harry. His boyfriend punched his shoulder and they grinned at each other. Pansy and Blaise stared at them in annoyance and rolled their eyes at the overly-Gryffindor display but Hermione smiled, used to it by now.

Meanwhile Ron was angrily glaring outside and trying to block the abundance of Slytherin from his mind.

In the next moment, Draco, Blaise and Pansy started a heated discussion about broomsticks, quidditch and tactics for the tournament this year. When Harry got over the surprise of the moment, and realized he wouldn't be shot down if he dared to speak, he also joined the conversation. It all ended with Harry and Blaise taking one side, being backed-up by a timid Hermione, while Pansy and Draco fervently took the other side and Ron just sat there in shock.

When they arrived at school, they split up. It wasn't by choice though… or at least not by Draco or Harry's choice. But Blaise and Pansy seemed to have different opinions about that. They dragged Harry's boyfriend off to a different carriage, now pulled by creatures that sadly everyone could see, with the excuse that there wasn't enough space in the Gryffindors'.

The rest of the journey was a silent one. Somewhere halfway to the dining hall the other Gryffindors caught up with them and set off a string of light-hearted conversations. This year, the Great Hall was more crowded than ever because almost all the students from before the war were back in their own year, and there were new first years as well. Harry, Ron and Hermione sat down with the rest of their friends. In less than a few hours, the rumours about Draco and Harry being able to tolerate each other enough to arrive together on the station (and maybe even ride in the same carriage, but who really believed that, right?) had spread throughout the school. Harry ignored the annoying rumors by hunching over the table and choking down his food.

For Draco, the journey was less pleasant. He'd only just left the carriage to be assaulted by questioning looks and one or two rude inquiries about his father. Thankfully most people seemed too frightened or preoccupied to really push the matter. Still, he had to push through a horrible crowd to get inside and things didn't really improve there either. It was like swimming through jelly; you just didn't move forward. When he finally entered the Great Hall, all heads seemed to be turned towards him. But he held his head high and strode of to a place at the Slytherin table.

Harry spent the entire time trying to see how Draco was doing, but people around him didn't make that easy. They were all trying to talk to him or blocking his view or breaking his concentration in other annoying ways. He finally caught a glimpse of the perfect blonde as the boy was getting up to leave. Harry exchanged glances with Hermione and Ron, showing he wanted to go as well. He wanted to catch up with him, he wanted to talk to him, he wanted to help him, he ...

Hermione told him to calm down. Harry took a deep breath but it didn't stop his heart from beating too fast as he almost ran out the room. However, it was all in vain. Draco had hurried away from the crowd and by the time Harry finally got outside, he was already gone. He was more than a little disappointed when he walked back to his own dorm.

It was difficult to focus on the small talk everyone was making as they were unpacking. His mind kept wandering back to the dungeons. Was he alright? How was he being treated? What was he doing? What was he thinking? He didn't realise that someone was talking to him until an angry voice shouted.

"HARRY!"

"Huh? What?" he mumbled.

"Jeez, Harry, where are your thoughts? You're like a love-struck maiden." They all laughed but Harry noticed Ron's concerned looks. He smiled reassuringly. Ron might not like Draco, but he did care about Harry.

That night, Harry decided that he'd find Draco before breakfast.


	8. Chapter 8

******A/N: **Hey, back from the dead. I finally started writing this one again.

I have to apologize for being this late but also for what I'm writing right now. I don't know how to continue this story anymore so I'm cutting it short. There are still some chapters coming, it'll end at around 15 or so, but that's it. I wanted it to be a lot longer but I just can't write it like that anymore and I owe you all an ending so this is going to be it :(

You'll see what I'm talking about when you get at chapter 12 :p

I hope you all like it nonetheless and thank you all so uch for reading and reviewing and favoriting and taking your time for this story. I know I would never have finished this if it wasn't for all of you.

So thank you all.

* * *

**Chapter 8**

When morning came, Harry was the first awake. He put on his clothes and prepped his bags for the day. Waking the others, he climbed down the stairs and started pacing the common room while waiting for everyone to come down.

He needn't have bothered though, because when the group left their common room, someone was standing near the portrait. His friends started to grumble at _his_ presencebut Harry just smiled and when Draco saw them, the latter did too (shocking the unsuspecting Gryffindors).

"G'morning," Harry said and Draco nodded in reply.

"Everything alright yesterday?" he asked, clearly inquiring about the first meeting with other students.

"If you mean with 'everything alright' that I successfully avoided all the idiots, then yes**,**" Draco answered matter of factly. "But that was to be expected," he added smugly.

By this time they were moving towards the Great Hall for their first breakfast at Hogwarts in almost one and a half years. After a short silence it was clear that no one knew what to say with their unexpected guest following them, so Draco broke the silence.

"Did you read the announcement?"

"No," Harry said. "What announcement?"

"They introduced a new system since we have so many students this year."

Harry turned to the rest in order to pull them into the conversation. "Did you guys know about this?"

Ron just shook his head but Seamus nodded and opened his mouth before Hermione cut him off. "We're going to be split up," she started while Seamus glared at her. "The first six years will have a normal year and repeat everything but they joined our year with the new seventh-years..."

During her rant, they were joined by some Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws from the DA. Old friends greeted them shortly and (after a surprised look at Draco, which greatly annoyed him) turned to Hermione, rolled their eyes with a fond smile and listened to her explanation. After a very long talk about all the practical problems the teachers would have these years and possible solutions, to prove that this was a brilliant method to solve their problems, she finally stopped by saying:

"So we are now an exceptionally large seventh year but they can't have too many people in one classroom since that would be very crowded. Every class will therefore be split up in two groups that will mingle with the others. This way we will sometimes be in the same class as last year and sometimes be in a class with half of them, combined with one of the halves that the other Gryffindor class has been split in. Of course, teachers will have to give the same lessons twice so we will have a lot less time to learn the same subjects. But then again, we won't be getting the exact same lessons either way since some of us learned some stuff last year and others learned none. This will be held in account when the split the groups up."

"Wait," Harry said desperately as he tried to stop her rant, "how can they hold that in account?"

Hermione stared at him and sighed as though that was obvious.

"Through tests of course." Draco intervened, before she started again. It earned him an angry look but it was worth it.

"Indeed," Hermione just said as she furrowed her brow.

"What?" Harry asked. "Are you kidding me? How can they do that to us so early on in the year?" Their friends started to laugh at his distress and complain about schoolwork already but Hermione just grew more annoyed with them.

Once again though Draco beat her to the punch. "They don't really have a choice do they? Besides, your grades now won't influence your exams."

"Yes they will," Hermione pitched in. "Depending on how well you score you will be in a higher or a lower class so the amount and the speed of the teachings will differ and... "

"And you will spend the rest of the week studying to get a perfect score?" Draco finished her sentence.

She blushed but pressed on. "Of course I will! Besides, you're going to study too so you have no right to mock me."

He looked at her in surprise and smiled curtly. "Indeed I am," he said. "Not like that matters. A test like this is nothing, it'll be a breeze."

"Says the guy who almost failed his sixth year," some girl said from the back of the group.

Draco immediately stopped walking. His entire demeanor suddenly turned cold as memories of that year washed over him. He clenched his fist tightly and managed, "Yeah, well. I was a bit... preoccupied in my sixth year."

Harry laid a hand on his shoulders and gently pushed the halted group forward again. Before anyone could breach the topic further he loudly asked, "So, Seamus, how was your summer? I've been hearing wild tales about a journey and is it true about those dragons?"

The boy jumped on chance to boast about his great adventures as he traveled the continent but at the end of an unbelievable story that contained a river, an empty can of ice tea, an old t-shirt and some duct tape, he added, "But if it's rumors you're interested in, I think Malfoy here can top them all. I heard something about his father and all that. Is it true?"

Harry could almost hit him.

Draco however just looked at him dryly and said, "Well, as much as I'm thrilled to answer a question that couldn't possibly be considered rude, I actually have to get to the other side of the Hall to eat," and with those words turned around and walked away because they had already reached the door to the Great Hall.

The rest of the group looked at him for a few seconds before splitting up and going to their respective tables. When Hermione, Neville and the rest sat down, Harry made sure to sit next to Seamus.

He ate in silence for a while, while Seamus and Dean talked away about everything and nothing. When their conversation finally halted Harry leaned over to him and asked why the hell he would ask a question like that. Seamus looked at him in surprise and had to think for a second before he understood what Harry was talking about.

"What? I didn't think it mattered."

"How can that not matter?"

"It's just a rumor. I didn't think it was such a big deal." Harry glared at him and he knitted his eyebrows. "What? Are you saying that the whole deal is real?"

"Of course not!" Harry said, a little too fast. Seamus raised his eyebrows and Harry quickly continued. "I just know what it's like to have rumors spread like that. It's bad enough knowing that people are talking behind your back, so you don't have to go accentuate that fact."

Seamus nodded. It made sense, what with the rumors about the heir of Slytherin and the romance with Hermione and what-not. He shrugged his shoulders and said, "Whatever, I'm sure it wasn't that bad," to try and shake off his embarrassment. "I mean, this is Malfoy we're talking about. The guy has no emotions." He laughed awkwardly.

"Don't talk about it like that." Harry said with a viciousness that surprised Seamus. "Compared to him, your summer was just frolicking around in a meadow."

"Hey, you have no idea what my summer was like!" Seamus retorted angrily.

"No," Harry admitted while grabbing the sandwich he had been trying to eat, "but I know about his." he bit to Seamus. Then he got up and left, leaving a stunned boy with a lot of questions.

While he walked past Ron and the rest he muttered something about the common room and stalked out the hall.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

The next time Harry saw Draco again was during a study session in the library. About a day had passed and most seventh years were busy trying to shove some useful knowledge in their heads to prepare for the upcoming tests. Most of the DA sat spread out over a few tables as they looked through accumulating piles of books, studying for their first test: Transfiguration. Harry tried to understand the same paragraph for the seventh time when a familiar voice greeted him. He looked up from his non-progressing work and smiled as Draco sat down across from him, on the only free seat so Blaise and Pansy sat down somewhere else. Some people looked up surprised at his sudden arrival and eyed him suspiciously but nobody said anything.

"Hey," he said back. "Also here to study?"

Draco snorted. "No, I'm here to sketch the library," he said sarcastically. "What other reason could I possibly have to bring ink and quill?"

Harry rolled his eyes and tried to read the paragraph again, without success.

"Well, you could just be here to bother us of course," Ron said without looking up from his books.

"Yeah, because that's my favorite pastime and I've got nothing better to do."

"Well, you could've fooled me, you seem to enjoy yourself."

Draco sneered, "You're just easy to fool, idiot."

"No fighting please," Harry said.

Ron scribbled something in his review and turned a page.

Draco just shrugged and opened the closest book from the piles he'd brought along. "And that's Merlin's original opinion about Transfiguration you're reading there. You know, before he turned his rival into a rabbit. It's the answer to the third question," he said while paging through his book.

"Huh?" Harry said, looking up.

"The line you've been trying to read all this time."

"Ah, really?"

"You know you're never gonna finish like this, right?" Draco said as he glanced over at how far Harry had gotten with his work. Some teachers had given them homework to do (like McGonagall's question-list and Slughorn's essay on the practical aspect of potions), so most students were busy doing those as study material.

"I'm getting there, I'm getting there," Harry said as he scribbled down the response on his parchment.

The easy banter that inevitably occurred when a bunch of Gryffindors studied together picked up again as they continued with their work.

"So," Harry said after a while, "how was yesterday?"

Some looked up to see who he was talking to before looking back over their work.

Draco shrugged. "I just got some reading material and started preparing for the upcoming tests."

"You know that's not what I meant."

Draco fell silent while he focused over his work again. Just when Harry thought he might completely ignore the question the boy put down his quill and sighed softly as he leaned back in his chair. "As expected, mostly. Just leaving the common room means whispers and looks everywhere but that's pretty much it."

He smiled meanly as he added, "Some even try to come up but _something_ seems to stop them before they reach me."

An evil glint passed his eye and Harry figured that that glint was probably what 'encouraged' most of them to _just keep walking_.

"You know how it goes." He said as he grabbed his quill again and picked up where he left off.

"Indeed I do," Harry said, thinking about all the rumors that had been spread in his life.

"So, as a pro on the subject, do you have any pointers?" Draco quipped.

"Hey," someone said but Harry just laughed softly. "Unfortunately not, sorry."'

"Too bad, it could prove useful, what with all the practice you've had."

"It's more of a 'trial and error' kind of thing." Harry smile apologetically.

"Wait, didn't you say 'leaving the common room'? So nothing…" he didn't know how to finish the question.

"No. Slytherin isn't joining in the whole rumor-thing. Which, I might add, they'd be much better at."

"Well, we can always sort something out for you," Pansy said from another table. Apparently she'd been listening in on the conversation.

"No thanks," Draco said without skipping a heartbeat. "It's quite fine like this."

She laughed and wrote something down.

"So Slytherin isn't doing anything?" Harry asked surprised.

Draco looked up from his work and raised an eyebrow. "Now what makes you think they'd ever try to go up against me?"

The typical smirk showed him that Draco was back to his usual self and not the unsure little version of him he'd been since the article.

"I can think of a few," Seamus mumbled from his corner of the table. Almost all the heads turned at once in his direction so he looked up. "What? You're all thinking the same things. Like the fact that he's sitting here with all of us."

Draco raised an inquisitive eyebrow as he pointed out that there were also a lot of Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs sitting with them.

"That's different."

"How so?"

"They're… they're…" He didn't really know how to finish the sentence and Harry was giving him a look that clearly said he wouldn't be happy if he did finish. But Draco didn't let it go that easily.

"They're?"

"They fought on our side." Seamus said.

Draco smiled. "Indeed they did. I didn't realize that had become a requirement to sit in the library."

"Look," Seamus said, backpedalling the conversation. He didn't really mean to be discriminating or anything and he was all for giving everyone an equal chance but the current situation was just too much too sudden. "I'm not saying you can't sit with us or anything, that's just stupid. I'm not that childish but, like… " he ran a hand through his hair. "We've never even talked without insults and now you're just sitting and walking with us. You have to see that's weird, right?"

Draco considered that for a second before nodding. He got up and moved his chair back.

"Ah, no," Seamus wanted to say. He hadn't meant to scare the guy off. Harry was now sending him murderous looks but Draco just walked around the table to where the boy was sitting and held out his hand.

"I'm Draco," he said. "Draco Malfoy. Seventh year, a Slytherin."

They all looked at him in bafflement.

Then Seamus shook his hand and said, "Seamus Finnigan, the same but a Gryffindor."

He followed Draco with his eyes as the blond sat back down and looked at the rest of the table.

"Nice to meet you all."

A surprised silence followed that was only broken by the sound of Harry hitting Seamus on the head with a piece of parchment before the conversations started again.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

"You know none of you are going to be ready for transfiguration at the rate you're all going?" an annoyed Hermione sighed as she watched her fellow classmates doodling on Ron's homework.

Some had the decency to look up as she glared at each and every one of them before looking away uncomfortably.

Only Draco responded to her.

"Well don't look at me. I'm done with transfig already."

His tablemates stared at him.

"What? It wasn't _that_ much. Besides, Hermione's finished it already."

"Well of course Hermione finished it already," Padma Patil responded.

"But there's no way you're done already, you've been distracted about as much as the rest of us," Seamus exclaimed as pointed his dripping quill at Draco, messing up his own work. "Let me see that," he said while he grabbed Draco's parchment from under his nose as if that was the most normal thing to do.

"Hey," Draco shouted since he was too late to grab it back.

Seamus' eyes scanned over the paper before turning back at the rest of the table.

"This is Potions!" he proclaimed officially.

"Well of course it is," Draco hissed as he pulled it from the Irish boy's grasp. "Or do you really think I'm going to find answers to the history of Transfiguration in a book on Herbology?"

Attention moved from Draco's essay to the books that sat beside him.

"_1000 plants with hallucinogenic properties, Poisonous flowers and what to do with them, How to grow your own garden, _these are all books on plants," Dean said as he shifted through the pile.

"And they've been lying there for the whole day already, how could you all _not _have noticed that?" Draco sighed exasperatedly.

"Wait, how can books on herbology help with an essay on the _practical execution_ of a potion of your choice?" Ron said.

Draco practically face-palmed right there.

"Idiots, I'm surrounded by idiots," he breathed in his hand. "We're talking about potions, Weasel, _where_ do you think the _ingredients_ come from?"

"No no no," Harry pitched in, "I get that but how does knowing the original birthplace of a poisonous purple plant help in explaining why you have to stir three times clockwise to finish a cauldron of Felix Fortunatis? And _How to grow your own garden_? Seriously?"

"It's actually quite clever," Hermione answered in an impressed tone. "If you know how a plant grows and what all its properties are, you can explain why it respond the way it does in certain conditions. By turning the thought pattern upside-down, you can give an exact explanation to the amount of stirs a potion needs."

The table stared at her.

"How?"

"For example; you have a plant that cannot withstand water and one that is incredibly water resistant, that have to be mixed together. The first one, when placed in water, will grow weak immediately so if you stir it once or twice it will start falling apart. The second one will do nothing if it isn't stirred long enough," she finished as if that explained all. Clearly it didn't , considering all the looks her friends were giving her.

"So," she continued, getting tired of it and wanting to return to her own work as soon as she could, "let's say the first one will fall apart completely if you stir it five times and let's say that when it falls apart, it releases a high dose of powder that will ruin your potion while the second one doesn't even start to react if it isn't stirred at least three times. The last question is how much of both do you need for your potion. If the second one is incredibly important you'll want to stir as long as possible, which is exactly four times. If the first one is incredibly dangerous, you'll want to stir as little as possible which is 3 in this case."

A pause followed.

"Isn't that just way too much work for a single answer. I mean, you'd have to look up both plants and compare and there's no such thing as a potions that's made up of only two plants," Padma said in a small voice.

"Yeah, aren't you the little over-achiever?" Ron bit at Draco.

"That just depends on your point of view." He seemed bored with the conversation and started to write his essay again, as if that was all there was to say about the matter.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

Draco sneered as he put down his quill and looked Ron in the eyes. "What's it to you?" His icy tone almost froze the air in the room. There was no doubt about it that he could still piss of Ron with the least amount of words.

"What the heck!"

"Calm down, Ron," Harry said.

"Who does the git even think he is, looking down on us like that."

"He's not, Ron," Harry's voice sounded slightly annoyed.

"He's not then, is he? Then what do _you_ propose he's doing right now? You're always just saying he's not as bad as he seems but I'm not going to put up with his insults just 'cause _you _say he doesn't _mean _it!"

"I don't mean it?" Draco frowned, "I'm always very serious." His sarcasm was lost on all the others, save one. That one just growled at him to shut UP because he wasn't helping the situation in any way while Ron was just about to break out in shouting which would get them thrown out of the library. After months of living with the git under one roof, the redhead seemed to have finally reached his limit.

But Draco was getting to his limit as well so when Ron started complaining about his jibes and telling him that he had to stop doing that, he closed his books and with a voice that could freeze over Hell replied, "I don't care what you think about me _Weasel_ but I am _not_ going to stand for you dictating my choice of words. You're _not_ the ruler of the castle and you're _not_ speaking for all of the students. You're just one measly weak guy with a closed off opinion about me and I do _not_ take orders from you so don't tell me what I **can or can't say or do**."

"Oh yeah, then what is this right now? You bastard. You're just ordering me not to complain to you. So I'm not allowed to talk back at you, is that it? Well, let me tell you, I'm not a Slytherin so I'm not your little slave. You can't boss me around."

"Hey!" Pansy shouted at that.

It was only now that they realized everyone'd gone quiet and stopped working to listen to their conversation.

"We're not Draco's little slaves!" she continued. "What depraved image do you guys have from Slytherin?"

"Well, you do always follow him around everywhere," Seamus admitted.

"And nobody follows Harry around?" She retorted, eyebrows raised, "He's like a God if you believe the Gryffindors."

"Comparing me to the Chose One now?" Draco asked, his tone back to normal sneer since he wasn't talking to Ron anymore. "No thank you," he said and looked disgusted by the idea.

"Look!" Ron said, sounding frantic now as his voice rose louder, making some look around for the librarian who seemed to have turned deaf today. On any other occasion she would've interfered a long time ago. "There he goes again, the git. Always looking down on us like we're nothing."

"Wow, and what if I just joke like this?" Draco's voice turned perfectly in the threatening voice from before; low, cold, dangerous and it scared the audience how quickly he could do that.

"You call that joking while it's just plain offensive. If you want us to be kind to you then you shouldn't go around insulting us every time."

"Want you to be kind to me?" His voice was just a whisper now, "I don't need your pity Weasel," he sneered, saying the name like the lowest insult he could think of. "And you're just sprouting your own opinion. Or are you telling me this is a rule? Like I'm not allowed to join your secret little club if I don't go change myself completely? That doesn't sound very Gryffindor, now does it? Or is that just special treatment? Just 'cause it's me and _you _don't like me?"

Ron huffed as he needed a second to get over the incredibly indignation he felt at the response.

"This is not just my opinion," he started, "you're a bastard and a stupid git and for years you've been nothing but the enemy, it's only natural that I you decide you want to be friends you'd have to prove you're indeed-"

He got cut off rudely as Harry rose next to him and slammed a book closed on the table. He sent a death glare at his friend, boring him into the ground before grabbing his stuff and storming out of the library, robes fluttering behind him.

Nobody moved while they stared at the door of the library as it slowly closed after their angry friend.

Then they all turned back at the two fighters that remained.

Draco shrugged his shoulders and looked at Ron. "I think you'd better go after him," he said in the same tone, only slightly less vicious.

Ron bristled at him to show he didn't want to be ordered around but after a look from Hermione and seven years of experience he decided against another fight and walked out after his friend.

Draco looked at him go and then grabbed his books again to continue his work. An eerie silence had fallen over the tables as a scribble was heard every now and then.

Finally Hermione broke the silence, unable to take it anymore. "You should go after him too if you want to."

Draco looked up from his work. He managed a small smile as he said that that would be a bad idea, considering the Weasel was still shouting at Harry and wouldn't finish within fifteen minutes.

"How can you say that?"

He shrugged it off, "That's the way it's always been. If the Weasel screws up like that Harry will either not talk to him for at least three days or they'll have an argument of twenty to fifty minutes, depending on the subject."

"And how can you say _that_ with so much certainty?"

He put his quill down, sorted his parchments and gave her his undivided attention. "Hermione, I've been his sworn enemy for the past _seven years_. I think I know him better than anyone else does." He then turned back to his work.

"Now what makes you say that?" somebody said while he tried to block out their conversations.

He sighed and without looking up answered, "He knows me better than my parents know me, it's only natural to assume the same thing. It's not a long stretch considering we've been observing each other for every waking hour."

"Don't you mean you've been stalking him?" Pansy said, wiggling her eyebrows.

"Hilarious Pansy, actually trying to imply I'd go as low as you would."

"Well, it is true," Pansy said.

"I've never noticed Draco following us around," Hermione said, "but I do recall Harry doing such things at times."

Draco raised an eyebrow at that while trying to feign disinterest.

"Oh, Draco did that _all the time_," Pansy said.

"I'm warning you, keep talking like that and I'm gonna start talking as well."

"Ow, Draco, don't be like that. I'm pretty sure I've got more dirt on you than you do on me."

"Is that so? I do recall a small incident with alcohol in fourth year. How would you feel about that?"

"I'd retort with the one from third year."

Draco furrowed his eyebrows at the memory and retorted with some new threat.

"Oooh, Christmas, Draco"

"Last year," he answered.

"What happened in sixth is nothing compared to that," she smirked, not noticing how Draco's left hand turned to a fist and he had to struggle not to grab his wrist.

She hadn't realized her mistake before Blaise hit her in the side.

"Ow shit," she said as she repeated the sentence in her head. "Man, I'm sorry I didn't mean it like that, really I didn't."

"It's fine," Draco said but his tone was slightly glazed.

"I'm really sorry." Nobody really knew what this was about but they all had some bad memories from sixth so they could imagine, they thought.

"You know, I'm not going to get any work done here, am I?" He grabbed his stuff and floated a pile of books to the desk to take them with him.

The rest just watched him leave as they sat in silence.

Finally Pansy laughed which earned her a surprised look from Blaise and Hermione.

"You know what I think?" she asked. "Fifteen minutes have passed, he's gone to see Harry. What great timing." She smirked as she grabbed her books and turned back to the infernal transfiguration questionnaire.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

He had just dropped off his books and everything in his room and was walking towards the owlery where he knew Harry would be. Well, he wouldn't be all the way up, because that wasn't a cosy place to be but he'd be somewhere in the vicinity.

He was right.

Harry was sitting on a bench in the corridor just next to the stairs. He was looking the other way but probably heard Draco coming so he wasn't surprised when the boy sat down next to him. The corridor was deserted. Most people where either in the library studying because they were seventh years or outside enjoying the sun because class hadn't started yet. It was a Saturday after all.

"I didn't mean to strike out like that, I'm sorry," Draco said.

Harry snorted. "Well, at least you're better at this than Ron."

He raised an eyebrow.

"He was running after me, shouting and then started explaining you were just too much of a prat so he couldn't stop himself from being angry," Harry explained.

"I see," he responded but refrained from expanding on the topic in fear of another argument. The redhead could be quite infuriating sometimes and he wasn't in the mood to talk about that right now.

"Well, I hope everything's okay now," he said instead. "We wouldn't want the Golden Boy sulking."

"You see, this is exactly what he was talking about. You know that, right?" Harry said.

"Yes, but you like it," Draco teased.

He didn't get an answer for a second so he glanced aside and saw Harry blush a bit. "That's beside the point," Harry mumbled while Draco just smirked and leaned against the wall, staring at the other side of the hallway.

They continued in silence for a short while before Draco restarted the conversation. "This is what I think. Not many have an actual problem with me talking like that, so long as I don't insult them directly."

"Now what makes you say that?"

"Only one was complaining as far as I saw, or did you see anyone else joining him?"

"That doesn't prove anything."

"But it doesn't break my claim either."

Harry nodded.

"So," Draco continued, "only he complains because he doesn't like me and makes no difference between me lightening up the mood or insulting someone."

"But you also target him all the time so that doesn't help."

"He just makes it too easy," Draco smirked.

"Then resist the temptation," Harry sounded a lot more annoyed than he tried to let on. "I don't want that kind of fight happening again."

"You know you sound like a mother now?" Draco pointed out.

Harry glared at him.

"Alright, alright," he gave in before Harry tried to throttle him. "I give up."

He turned to the brunette next to him and laid a hand over his heart. "I solemnly swear that I will try to behave."

Harry tried not to smile to keep up the 'stern mother' act but knew he failed when Draco laughed for real and brushed his hair.

He tried to dodge the attack on his head but Draco didn't let him go and they ended almost pressed together, completely entangled.

For one long second Draco stared in Harry's eyes and felt like nothing mattered more in the world than right now and that this moment would be perfect if only he leaned forward and…

Nearing footsteps pulled him back in the present. He snapped back to reality and disentangled himself from Harry before the intruding students could round the corner and see them. With one last mischievous smile he ruffled Harry's hair and sauntered away.


End file.
